Glaucous
Adjective.
1 a: of a pale yellow-green color. b: of a light bluish-gray or bluish-white color.
2: having a powdery or waxy coating that gives a frosted appearance and tends to rub off.
– glaucousness, noun.
[Origin: Latin glaucus, from Greek glaukos gleaming, gray]
(1671)
“Suddenly, a wave of very big rats, with glaucous eyes and lips drawn back from shining ridges of teeth, came boiling out of the darkness.” – The Wicked, Douglas Nicholas.
And, some other nifty color words:
Murrey / Perse / Cramoisy
Murrey, noun: a purplish black: Mulberry. [Origin: Middle English, from Anglo-French muré, from Medieval Latin moratum, from neuter of moratus mulberry colored, from Latin morum, mulberry.] (15th Century).
“Fastened to his surcoat was a brooch worn as a badge: a silver disk inlaid with murrey-colored enamel, against which the white fountain of Blanchefontaine stood out, rendered in raised silver.” – Something Red, Douglas Nicholas.
Perse, adjective: of a dark grayish blue resembling indigo. [Origin: Middle English pers, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin persus.] (15th Century)
Cramoisy: adjective: of a crimson colour. noun: crimson cloth.
[Origin: French cramoisi, from Spanish carmesi, from Arabic qirmzi, equivalent to kermes.] (1375 -1425)
“She took the cramoisy gown from his hand and folded it, and then held the perse up against herself, looking down at it.” – Something Red, Douglas Nicholas.
So when I say ‘glaucous’, you still can’t be sure which colour I mean. ;) I love colour words and their textures. Though ‘puce’ leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
There’s a river called the Pērse, which just might fit the colour -- although if you ask the Estonians, we’re just being rude.
I like glaucous all the more for the several different colour definitions. Today, the sky is glaukos. :D A neglected word, taken over by the medical condition of glaucoma. Seems a pity to lose it, when it has such wondrous definitions.
I love murrey. It’s a grand descriptor of the deepest purple.
Oh, and the quote for glaucous, it references the light bluish-gray.
I see these https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaucous_gull in the summer.
Perse is also a Finnish word, and they are usually pink to brown here, though who knows if it’s very cold…
Ice Swimmer
Bright red, when left out in the cold wind for too long…
+++
Murrey is one of my favourite colours, so deep as to be almost black. Added bonus: it looks good on me. ;) My wedding dress was the closest I could find to that colour, without being too sombre.